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Vernon County Recycling Center in tune with Earth Day
Nevada Daily Mail
"Ask not what your planet can do for you! Ask what you can do for your planet!"
-- Recyclers of the Midwest
Clipboards made of used computer circuit boards, watches composed of the upholstery of a BMW and a Pepsi can, pencils made of old newspapers and retired U.S. currency -- these items and more were on display at the Vernon County Recycling Center.
On Saturday, the Vernon County Recycling Center held a Recycling Awareness Day and Spring Clean up. They advertised tire drop off, electronics drop off, commercial trash bins available for disposal of household items and white goods drop off.
Hot dogs and door prizes also were offered.
Activities included paper making for children that sought to teach them what recycled items can become.
It was a windy day and papers flew everywhere; but all of those who were involved in the recycling project seemed more than elated.
The Recyclers of the Midwest state that one tree can filter up to 60 pounds from the air each year and Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial fleet. These are just some of the facts that were presented to parents and children who participated in the event.
Bobby Gregg, a representative of the Recyclers of the Midwest said, "Today, recycling has gone way up. We've had about 200 people so far."
The Recyclers Association advises people to buy durable long lasting goods instead of purchasing the cheapest item, cheaper items tend not to last and cannot be used over and over again. Earth Day began in the 1960s with Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was concerned that the issue of conservation needed to be addressed.
Initially, Nelson sought the aid of then President Kennedy who was persuaded to tour the nation on a 11 state conservation tour in 1963. Eventually though the enthusiasms died away and left Nelson without a venue to address this concern.
However, the Vietnam War was occurring during this period which allowed Nelson to persuade college students to host a grassroots "sit in" on the issue of Earth Day. It worked, and Nelson received a tremendous response from grassroots organizations.
In 1970, Earth Day became official. This is what the Recyclers of the Midwest were doing in Vernon County, one of the few organizations that were raising awareness locally on Earth Day 2006.
The local recycling center is, to the knowledge of Ron Clow, Nevada planning director and recycling center supervisor, this is the only facility within 60 miles that actually processes recyclable materials.
He said the facility is growing and seeking ways to expand operations.
As demand increases the facility's hours of operation will increase and Clow said they may be able to add one more day per week of operation.
The recycling center has gone from using bailers and containers for recyclables loaned to the local facility for use in exchange for the materials, to now owning the containers and balers. the facility is paid for everything it processes.
Each day the center is open, the workers remove between two and three bales of materials from the waste stream, Clow said.
This also benefits the city's goal of cleaning up the town.
"I have seen a drop in trash since we started this," he said.
The facility also helps some of the local businesses reduce the number of trash pickups needed by serving recycling needs.
For example, they currently have a contract with Nevada Regional Medical Center and other businesses to handle shredded paper and cardboard and are looking for commercial contracts.
The recycling center is open Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m, and the first and third Saturday of each month, 8-10 a.m.